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Are People on Food Stamps Lazy?
We all have been guilty of judging another person at some point in our life, even if we don’t realize it. When you see a small child in a store throwing a fit, you might think that the parents weren’t doing a very good job of parenting. When we easily criticize others, we know it’s wrong. Judgmental people in our society is a big problem. We need to develop tolerance toward others and treat them as equals. Many people in our country who need financial assistance, use food stamps to buy food for their families. Sometimes other people tend to silently disapprove when they see them using food stamps. 93% of people on food stamps legitimately qualify for assistance. There are a few individuals who abuse the system. They might buy expensive items or unhealthy products. There are also occasional stories in the news, about people trading their food stamps for drugs or other illegal items. These people are in the minority, because putting food on the table for a family is the most common use of food stamps.
The Food Stamp Act of 1964 was intended to strengthen the agricultural community and provide an improved level if nutrition among low-income households; however, the practical purpose was to bring the pilot Food Stamp Program (FSP) under congressional control. They wanted to make FSP regulations into law. State public assistance agencies run the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) through local offices. There are basic rules that apply in most states. SNAP benefits are based on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Thrift Food Plan.
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It estimates how much it costs to buy food to make nutritious, low-cost meals for a household. This is adjusted every year to keep up with the prices of food. Eligibility for SNAP is determined by how much income is left over after certain essential monthly expenses are deducted and the number of members in a household. These guidelines apply to individuals and families who are working for low wages or part-time, unemployed, receiving welfare or other public assistance, elderly or disabled and are low income and the homeless.
The Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program is the nation’s most important anti-hunger program. Nationwide there are 38 million participants, or 12% of the total population (1 in 7). Alabama has the more recipients than any other state with 727,000 in 2019, or 15% of the state’s population (1 in 9). In Alabama almost 74% of SNAP recipients are families with children, 34% are families with elderly or disabled members and 43% are working families. The average monthly SNAP benefit for all households is $247, households with children is $392, working households $310, families with seniors $96 and families with disable members is $184.
Many people think SNAP Benefits cost taxpayers too much and have a low opinion of people on food stamps. SNAP does benefit our economy and every SNAP $1 in SNAP benefits generates $1.70 in economic activity. There are about 247,000 authorized retail locations around the country. The SNAP dollar goes to the grocer, workers and goods, and stimulates economic growth. It makes sense, SNAP dollars go to people who live paycheck to paycheck. They immediately spend the benefit on food. For some this leaves them more income to spend on other necessities, which boosts our economy and helps create jobs.
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The federal government created SNAP benefits as a short-term food assistance for those who are unemployed or longer-term help for those who can’t work or have low income. During economic recessions, food stamp program spending increases. When the economy recovers spending falls. That is what it was designed to do, keep people from starving during hard times. However, huge wealth gaps remain in this country; the U.S. economy doesn’t work for everyone. Income inequality is at levels not seen in over 100 years and still climbing. Around 40% of Americans wouldn’t be able to cover a $400 emergency expense and one in every four families don’t have any retirement savings. When wages don’t keep up with rising costs of living, food stamp spending will increase, especially for workers with low wages, unsteady income and few benefits at work.
Food stamp recipients are not lazy and don’t rely on welfare to get by. In 1996 Temporary Assistance for Needy Families was created to replace welfare. It was turned over to states, where only a fraction of families in deep poverty who qualify for cash assistance can receive it. That same year, the federal government mandated the requirement for food stamp recipients to work if they can. For every additional dollar a worker makes, their benefits only decline 24 to 36 cents. Families that receive SNAP have incentives to work longer hours or search for better-paying employment. States also support workers through SNAP Employment and Training programs. Unemployed adults on SNAP can receive training and have work activities. Around 2/3 of food stamp participants are not expected to work because they are senior citizens on a reduced income, people with disabilities or children. Most of the rest of SNAP households have at least one working age, non-disabled adult. More than half of them
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work while getting food stamps and more than 80% worked the year before or after getting SNAP benefits. Rates for families with children are even higher.
Bonnie had been making $21 an hour at her company, enough to support herself and her three children. When her company cut back on her hours, she had to rely on food stamps to put food on the table. She could no longer afford the healthier options that she bought before. Fruits, vegetable and whole grains were harder to afford. Foods with added sugars were the cheaper options. She also found that her and her children were less likely to eat three meals a day. Hunger and food hardship have long-term implications, which include obesity, poor academic achievement, long term economic costs, dental problems, low birth weights and mental health issues. She took advantage of her state’s Training program to get the skills she needed to apply for a management position at her company. Fred is 78 years old and recently retired. He wanted to continue working, but his company made some policy changes. He had always been a low wage earner, so he had never been able to sock away any huge sum for his retirement. He had saved enough for and emergency fund which went quickly in the following months and his unemployment benefits ran out. Fred always liked to make his own way, but his necessities took up all his $800 a month social security income. When he went to a local food pantry for help with food, a “Food Benefit Connection” specialist helped him apply for food stamps online and he was able to get $146 a month in SNAP benefits. It had never occurred to him he was eligible for food benefits. Charles came to town in 2000 as a broken man needing to make a change. He had nothing but 30 years of drug abuse, trouble keeping jobs and many run-ins with the law. While staying at a homeless facility, he heard about all the good that was done
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at the local VA. He was a veteran of the Vietnam Era. He was able to get mental health treatment, help finding a place to live and SNAP benefits. He says when you have a place to live and food on the table you feel like a new person. Charles volunteers at the VA Hospital, provides hope at addiction counseling meetings and is becoming an advocate for others facing hunger and food insecurity.
There are millions of real people with real problems who face hunger and food insecurity everyday in America. Many of them are children, elderly, disabled, along with many of our veterans. They desperately need the benefits that the food stamp program provides. They are not lazy or worthless people. Many of them are people who do have jobs that are low paying or not steady and just want a hand up until they can get to a better place through education, training or counseling. The trump administration is attempting to scale back on the food stamp program. Hundreds of thousands of Americans who rely on SNAP will lose their benefits. The administration wants to tighten work requirements for these recipients. The Agriculture Department estimates savings of $5.5 billion over five years and benefit cuts for around 686,000 SNAP participants. These Americans who face the highest barriers to employment and economic stability, would face higher rates of hunger and poverty. If this final rule is enacted on the food stamp program, there would be great harm done to individuals, communities and the nation. It would do nothing to improve health and employment of those who need help the most.
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Works Cited
U.S. Department of Agriculture – USDA Food and Nutrition Service, “Facts About SNAP”, 14
March 2019.
Feeding America, “Understanding SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program”,
accessed 14 March 2020.
www.feedingamerica.org/take-action/advocacy/federal-hunger-releif-programs/snap
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, “Policy Basics: The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
Program (SNAP)”, 2019, accessed 13 March 2020.
www.cbpp.org/research/policy-basics-the-supplemental-nutrition-program-snap/
Just Harvest, The Truth About Food Stamps, accessed 22 March.
www.justharvest.org/advocacy/the-truth-about-snap-food-stamps/
United Way of Central Maryland, “My Story: Bonnie”, accessed 21 March 2020